Dennis Murawski

I have an early 1969 convertible, 350 CI, 300 horse Turbo Hydramatic. I wanted to change the fuel filter. I found out the previous owner tried to avoid the cost of the AC filter and installed a Purolator F21117. In order to do that he cut the fittings off the original lines and used rubber hoses to make the connections. Trying to do things right I purchased an AC GF432 and a new fuel line kit. The kit is Eckler's Part No. 118625. There are three lines in the kit -- 1) Fuel pump to fuel filter, 2) fuel filter return line to the gas tank and 3) fuel filter to the carb. The fuel line to the carb isn't even close to fitting. It looks like this line is designed to connect to the right side of the carb. My Quadrajet attaches the fuel line to its very front, just over the thermostat housing. Anyone know what the correct fuel line part number would be fot this setup? Thanks.

Rescue Rogers

you may not have the correct carb. I believe the chevy carbs connect from the side. Buick and pontiac connected from the front. What are the numbers stamped near the thottle cable area

lars

You have a Pontiac carb on your Vette.There is no fuel line that will fit that. You need to get a Chevy carb.

This is what a correct '69 Chevy carb looks like:




Typical Pontiac carb with center inlet (this happens to be a '71 with the large bowl vent nipple on top). This configuration is never used on Chevy due to the fuel inlet pointing directly into the thermostat housing. Pontiac, Buick and Oldsmobile did this because they have the fuel pump on the driver's side of the engine, and there is a much greater distance from the carb to the thermostat housing:



Lars

Dennis Murawski

Thank you Rescue Rogers and Lars. I called the person I bought the Vette from and he was unaware that it was not the stock carburetor. Can you think of any good reason why someone would swap the Pontiac carb for the stock one? I need recommendations on what to do next. Are Qjets date coded? So I would need to find the correct Qjet model that's date coded before my build date, right? Are there newer and better non-stock options available? Any thoughts about installing a FI unit? Thanks guys. Dennis

BigBlock77

It was probably a parts store swap or just the uninitiated that thought "a Quadrajet is a Quadrajet" and that they are all the same. Mine had the same type on it when I bought it as well with the front feed into the fuel bowl. In those days I thought it was a Quadrajunk and sold it to a buddy. You might be able to make it run right, but stock parts are not going to fit up to it. Lars is a wealth of information on the Q-Jet and I'm sure he'll have some good suggestions for you.

Dennis Murawski

The stamping on the Rochester Quadrajet is 7044244 KD. Underneath it is 0184. From what I can find it was used on 72 - 74 Buicks. I think the date code is January 18th 1974. Now, knowing this is not the correct carburetor for my 1969 350, could it still be set up to perform well in my application? Thanks.

Rescue Rogers

Lars has a list of what carbs went with what years, he"ll send it to you if you get in touch with him. Don't buy a new one or a remanufactured one. If you want a new carb theres edelbrock and holley but finding an old original and getting it rebuilt by Lars is a great idea. If you want FI, the Holley sniper system is good and you could grab the sniper fuel tank as well. If you ask around here or on ebay you can find a 69 quadrajet pretty easily.

lars

Get a '69 Chevy Q-Jet - anything else will be a hack-job.

If you're concerned about date codes, why would you even consider FI and other non-stock carb options? What are you trying to do and achieve..?

7044244 was not used on 72 - 74. It was specifically used on 1974 only, LeSabre and Century 350 automatics.

Lars

Rescue Rogers

I actually had one and Lars didnt suggest it, he said I was better off finding one setup for the Chevy originally

Dennis Murawski

From what I can find, the proper Qjet for a 300 horse Turbo Hydramatic is part number 7029202. Can someone check that for me? What should I expect to pay for this correct carb?

Rescue Rogers

75.00 to 150.00 I think. heres one on ebay. If you find one, send the link to Lars, he'll tell you if its worth it


https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...jet+carburetor

Dennis Murawski

When I bought the Vette I was told that all the dates codes were correct. A day or so ago I found out I was lied to. The advice I was given was, take the carburetor off, pack it safely in a box and stick it in your attic. If you ever sell the Vette, the stock carb goes with it. But until then the drivability will be much better with FI. I haven't made up my mind on what I'm going to do. While I don't want to cheap out, price will enter my decision. Thanks again.

Dennis Murawski

Lars, what do you think? Dennis

lars

No. Bad carb. Don't buy it. Send me an e-mail request for my "Carb Screening Services" info and I'll send you all the info you need.

Scott is correct in his price range evaluation.

Lars
V8FastCars@msn.com

Dennis Murawski

Okay, I located a rebuildable core on eBay that Lars found acceptable. It's being shipped directly to him so he can do his magic. After the swap, that fuel line should fit just fine. Thanks everybody for your help.

Bikespace

While you are at it, ask Lars for his "How to Build a Fuel Line" paper as well. If you use the stock Q-Jet filter and stock fuel pump, you won't need it, but if you want an aftermarket in-line filter, it will help you do it more safely, without any pressurized rubber sections.

Dennis Murawski

Running on Lar's engine.

Running cold with choke closed and cracked open by pulloff.

Cold fast idle set to about 1310.

Cold fast idle air/fuel mixture right om the desired number in the mid-12's.

Running hot with choke open.

Hot idle speed set to about 850.

Hot idle air/fuel mixture right on the numbers at 14.7.

lars

To summarize:
As noted in his post #15, Dennis was able to find an excellent, original, rebuildable 1969 Q-Jet that's correct for his car with a few hours of dedicated eBay searching. It was a little rough and corroded, but he had it shipped directly out to me for evaluation, rebuild and setup/test. After replacing a few parts, fixing some incorrect items and bad setup issues, and after getting all the rust off it, the carb checked out really well. It's going to run great on his car, and will look completely "correct" with his new fuel line.

Lars